Population: 7.1 million (11th in country)
Size: 52,669 square miles (28th in country)
Capital: Raleigh (established 1792)
Origin of Name: from the Latin, 'Carolus,' in honor of King Charles I of England.
Nickname: Tar Heel State -- the origin is clothed in mystery, but it probably evolved from the fact that during the Colonial period, the colony's chief exports were tar, pitch and turpentine.
Motto: To Be, Rather Than To Seem
Song: 'The Old North State' by Judge William Gaston
Flower: Dogwood
Tree: Pine
Bird: Cardinal
Shell: Scotch Bonnet
Fish: Channel Bass
Insect: Honey Bee
Reptile: Box Turtle
Mammal: Gray Squirrel
Dog: Plott Hound
Stone: Emerald
Rock: Granite
Beverage: Milk
Vegetable: Sweet Potato
 

Climate and Geography
From Manteo in the east to Murphy in the west, North Carolina is 560 miles long, making it the longest state east of the Mississippi. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Tennessee on the west, Virginia to the north, and South Carolina and Georgia to the south, North Carolina is divided into three distinct geographic areas: the Mountains, in the west; the Heartland, often called the Piedmont, in the center; and the Coast, in the east. Each has its own distinct features.

Industry
The 20th century has seen the transformation of North Carolina from a predominately agricultural state to a major industrial center, with about 25% of the workforce now employed in manufacturing. Its diverse, vibrant and booming economy has made it one of the stand-out success stories of the Sun Belt.

Textiles are the top industry in the state, and its presence dates back to 1813 when North Carolina's first cotton mill was built near Lincolnton. Today, North Carolina is the top textile manufacturer in the U.S., producing cotton and synthetic fabrics, yarns, threads, knitted goods, apparel and hosiery.

The Tar Heel State also leads the U.S. in the production of wooden furniture. Some 60% of the furniture manufactured in the U.S. is made within a 200-mile radius of Hickory, home of a nationally-known furniture outlet center and a furniture museum.

Also internationally known as the "Home Furnishings Capital of the World," High Point has more than 125 furniture manufacturing factories and is home to North Carolina's largest event...the International Home Furnishings Market, a wholesale buyers market, which takes place there each April and October.

North Carolina's biggest city, Charlotte, is the second largest banking center in the U.S. Two of the country's biggest banks, NationsBank and First Union National Bank, are headquartered there. The 60-story NationsBank Corporate Center is one of the largest buildings in the Southeast. Charlotte is also home to a branch of the Federal Reserve, which offers group tours.

High tech industries are primarily located in Research Triangle Park, an important scientific think tank located between Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Using the resources and people available at North Carolina State University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, the park has become an international center for research, development and cutting edge technology.

Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill are also major national centers for medical research and the latest in medical treatments. Because of its location along the East Coast and excellent highway system, North Carolina is also an important distribution center.

Agriculture
Tobacco is North Carolina's major crop, and the state's farmers raise nearly 40% of the tobacco grown in the U.S., making North Carolina the country's top producer. The state is also the nation's leader in the production of cigarettes and other tobacco products; more than half the nation's cigarettes are made here.

Growing grapes for the production of wine is becoming increasingly important. Conditions make it possible to grow a variety of grapes here, including the native scuppernong, also known as the `big white grape.' In 1997, there were 11 wineries in the state, including the one at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, the most visited winery in the U.S., as well as several smaller ones also open for public tours, such as the Westbend Winery in Lewisville and the Duplin Wine Cellars in Rose Hill.

The state is also among the country's top producers of peanuts, pork and turkey.

Favorite Foods
North Carolinians enjoy eating and cooking so much that they hold festivals in honor of their favorite delicacies, such as apples and watermelons, seafood and turkey, even pickles and collard greens.

Pork is a basic fare, and Tar Heel cooks can prepare it in many delicious ways: sausage biscuits with grits, country ham with red eye gravy, livermush (in a sandwich or with eggs), and, of course, barbecue -- or, as it is commonly spelled, BBQ.

BBQ is chopped pork slowly cooked so the hickory flavor is just right. But the key ingredient is the sauce, and the debate over which kind is best is intense and heated. Eastern Carolina BBQ features a vinegar-based sauce, while western North Carolinians use a tomato-based sauce. The city of Lexington -- which features a Western variation -- is considered the BBQ capital of the state.

Whatever kind you prefer, BBQ can be served on a bun or as an entree, and often with coleslaw, hush puppies and baked beans.

On the Atlantic coast near the South Carolina line, there's a fishing village called Calabash. It lends its name to a style of cooking known all along the Carolina coast ­ a laid-back, fill-the-stomach, easygoing manner of cooking and eating. From lean-to oyster shacks to fancy gourmet-style restaurants, the fresh oysters, clams, crabs, scallops and shrimp are generally fried to be called Calabash, but certain connoisseurs tell us seafood can be steamed or shucked and gobbled down raw with drawn butter, or broiled lightly and eaten with a squeeze of lemon juice. As a local states, "Calabash is a style of eating fresh seafood where you are ­ right here ­ however you like it."

Notable food-oriented festivals include:
April: Ham & Yam Festival - Smithfield; ChickenFest - Ahoskie; NC Pickle Festival - Mt. Olive/Faison
May: Strawberry Festival & Craft Show - Concord
June: Hillsborough Hog Day
July: Piedmont Berry Festival - Dobson; Southeastern NC Watermelon Festival - Fairbluff; NC Watermelon Festival - Murfreesboro
August: Corolla Seafood Festival; Sneads Ferry Annual Shrimp Festival; NC Apple Festival - Hendersonville
September: Ayden Collard Festival; Fruit & Fiber Day - Brevard; Crab & Art Festival - Belhaven; NC Turkey Festival - Raeford; Lincoln County Apple Festival - Lincolnton
October: NC Seafood Festival - Morehead City; Peanut Festival -Edenton; Brushy Mountain Apple Festival - North Wilkesboro; Elizabethtown Pork Festival; Livermush Festival - Shelby; NC Oyster Festival - Shallotte

Did You Know?
The oldest town in the state is Bath, incorporated in 1705.
On January 15, 1795, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first state university to open its doors for students.
The first silver mine in the country was the Silver Hill Mine, which opened in 1833 about 10 miles from Lexington.
North Carolina was the site of the first known miniature golf course, located in Fayetteville.
The first forestry school in the U.S. was established in Transylvania County by Dr. Carl A. Schenk in 1898.
The first abbey cathedral created in the Western Hemisphere was Belmont Abbey, located in Belmont and established by a papal edict in 1910.
Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville on March 7, 1914.
The Tar Heel State has more paved miles of road than any other state in the U.S. ­ 78,000 miles.
The first state-supported institution to emphasize the performing arts was the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.
Millions of years ago, the area was home to 50-foot-long alligators, and huge megladon sharks roamed the waters.
The New River, which runs through Ashe County, is the oldest river in the country and second oldest in the world.
You'll find more than 120 species of trees in North Carolina -- more than you'll find from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.
The state boasts of more than 200 waterfalls, including the highest on the East Coast: the 411-foot-high, two-tiered Whitewater Falls in Transylvania County.
North Carolina has 1,500 lakes 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams.
There are more than 1.2 million acres of national forest land in the Tar Heel State.